Flashbacks
by marykayle
Summary: Flashbacks are like déjà vu, with only difference that you actually remember when, where and how it happened. They are your memories, subconsciously remembered at the right time. However, Adrien and Marinette are dense and stubborn enough to make the obvious connection.


There were times when either Adrien or Marinette wondered who was their partner in real life. Not that the desire to find out appeared from time to time; no, it was constantly there, sometimes just bigger than usual.

And this kind of sometimes usually happened when they had flashbacks.

You know how déjà vu is happening, right? Flashbacks were practically the same, with the only difference of knowing when, where and how it happened before.

First time it happened in Marinette's mind was on Alix's birthday, when Alix and Kim were having a bet on Trocadero. Marinette was responsible for the poster to this bet, and once she showed it to her classmates, she received all the "ohhs" and "awws" that she deserved.

"Good job, Marinette!" said Adrien, winking at her.

 _(/"Excellent job, my lady!"/)_

That was what Chat Noir said to her with the very same wink just a couple of weeks ago while fighting Stormy Weather. It flashed in Marinette's mind despite her will, and she quickly shook the memory out of her head. Comparing calm and polite Adrien to some wild joker like Chat Noir? Puh-lease, what a nonsense!

First time Adrien experienced flashback was his first interaction with Marinette as Chat Noir during Evillustrator attack. Marinette took the pencil, he extended his stick to block the Evillustrator, and now poor Nathanael was accusing Marinette in being like Chloé. She stomped her feet.

"Come on, seriously? Why is everyone comparing me to Chloé tonight?"

 _(/Chat Noir is fighting Copycat, when Ladybug's yoyo string is wrapped around his arm._

 _"Hey, it's me!" he protests._

 _"Don't listen to him! I'm the real one!" cries Copycat._

 _"Come on, seriously?" Ladybug says, stomping her feet. "Show me your rings - how many pads do you have left?"/)_

Thememory from fighting Copycat stroke his mind bright and clear. Chat Noir became at once so distracted by it that Evillustrator easily kicked his baton up, took the pencil and trapped him and Marinette under the glass cube on a drowning boat.

Marinette advised him to extend his stick. If he was being honest, this Marinette had nothing in common with Marinette he knew, she seemed like an entirely different person. But Chat Noir chose not to focus on it, waving it off as a mistake of his mind.

"Good thinking," he told her, flashing a smile and leaning a bit too close.

"Yeah, I'm a genius," she replied, tapping his chin and moving his head away from her.

 _(/He rolls on the ground with Ladybug several times, and when they stop, he is on the top of her. He flashes his lady a grin, but she isn't impressed even slightly, tapping his chin with her finger and turning his head so he can face Stormy Weather, who is heading towards them./)_

Once again the memory flashed bright in his memory, but Chat was quick to get rid of it. It's pretty ridiculous to compare shy and reserved Marinette to confident Ladybug, isn't it? Maybe it's all because Ladybug is not here fighting with me tonight, he tried to convince himself.

Second time such thing happened to Marinette was when she won the derby hat design competition. Adrien took the hat from her hands, and when he almost put it on, he sneezed. Marinette blinked out of surprise. What was with everyone sneezing today? Adrien sneezed once more.

"Sorry, I'm allergic to feathers," he told her.

 _(/Chat Noir sneezes and rolls down the roof._

 _"I'm allergic to feathers," he tells Ladybug./)_

The memory this time is so fresh that it's almost aching in Marinette's brain. Just how common is the feathers allergy? The very same phrase from two different boys turned into one, said by two different voices. Different that much? she asked herself. Ridiculous, Marinette thought immediately. Though I guess my crush and my partner have more in common than I thought they would.

Second time for Adrien it was during the preparation for the UMS3 tournament. He went to Marinette's house to practice, then they took a break for a quiche her parents made and went outside. After that the Gamer showed on the scene, and Adrien pushed Marinette out of the way, landing on the ground with her under him.

 _(/He rolls on the ground with Ladybug several times, and when they stop, he is on the top of her. He flashes his lady a grin, but she isn't impressed even slightly, tapping his chin with her finger and turning his head so he can face Stormy Weather, who is heading towards them./)_

It was exactly the same memory that flashed in his mind when he was trapped with Marinette as Chat Noir under a glass cube, but Adrien had no time to think about it. He helped Marinette to run away, then transformed and ran off to save the day. Later during the tournament he watched Max and Marinette take down everyone else, and three similar moments started to sound like one repeated in his mind. Adrien ignored it, since it was just a trick his mind decided to play on him. Or not? He stole a glance at the girl. What if he could catch his lady behaving like Marinette?.. Oh, forget this stupid thought.

Third time it happened Marinette actually let herself a thought that Adrien and Chat Noir are awfully a lot similar. Uncle Cheng arrived to her house to participate in cooking competition, and she urgently needed a translator. Marinette called Alya, and her best friend came up with a good solution.

Good solution was sending Adrien to help her. Upon hearing the doorbell, Marinette rushed to open the door.

"A-Adrien?" The girl threw her hands around her head in a wild gesture. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Translator is here at your service," he replied with a bow.

 _(/"Your knight has come to rescue you," says Chat Noir with the very same bow at the very same place. She knows that he is here to protect her from the Evillustrator, but why is he playing all this 'knight-in-shining-armor' facade?/)_

It was not a common gesture at all for two different people to share, so Marinette decided that Adrien and Chat Noir knew each other better than she thought if they shared the same habits. Somehow it just felt like a convenient explanation.

Third time Adrien experienced a flashback, it's almost felt like déjà vu, too short to make conclusions. They were taking a class photo, and when Chloé took Juleka's place, Marinette realized that the purple-haired girl hasn't returned yet.

"Say cheese," told Vincent the students.

"Wait!" Marinette cried, trying to stop the shot by extending her hand forward.

 _(/"Chat Noir, wait!" Ladybug cries and pulls him back by the tail. "I know what to do." She runs towards the dinosaur. "Bon appetite, T-Rex!" And then she jumps right into his mouth./)_

This memory was so scary that Adrien waved it off as quickly as quickly as he could, only barely noticing that 'wait' from both girls sounded awfully alike.

However, next time Adrien's memory supplied him another moment, roles were reversed. This time Ladybug with Nino were looking for him during Jackady attack, and then he met Ladybug as Adrien for the first time.

"Hi," he breathed out.

"He-hello," she stuttered.

 _(/"Um, hi," says Marinette as she greets him on his birthday, awkwardly waving her hand a little._

 _"Hi," he responds, and she starts stuttering something, and he is almost desperate to make sense out of her words until Chloé pushes her out of the way./)_

This flashback was so old that it surprised Adrien it turned out to be so clear in his mind. Marinette from almost a year ago was stuttering just as bad as Ladybug now. Still, Adrien thought it was not strong enough to make something out of it.

But then later he pretended to take a shower, and Ladybug told him they should go.

"There's an emergency!" She tried to sound convincing.

"Can I put on my clothes first?" He asked, more like to let himself a little more time.

"Sure, if you want," she replied. Realizing what she said, Ladybug did a wild gesture with her hands around her hand. "I-I mean, of course you can!" With the last word Ladybug shut the door.

 _(/He has come to her house because Alya said she needed a translator for her Chinese uncle._

 _"A-Adrien?" Marinette throws her hands around her head in a wild gesture. "Wh-what are you doing here?"_

 _"Translator is here at your service," he replies with a bow./)_

The gesture is exactly the same, and this flashback was so bright that it made him wince. He no longer denied the similarities, settling on a very convenient explanation that Marinette was good friends with Ladybug, that's why they gained a lot of each other's habits. Somehow, it felt like tricking himself, but Adrien had two major problems: Jackady to defeat and Ladybug that close to handle, so he concentrated on those tasks.

-page break~~~_==+^

Maybe that's why when they find out who is hidden behind the mask, they don't freak out as much as they were supposed to. Maybe it's just their subconscious that whispers that it is exactly how the things should have been. Ladybug and Chat Noir, who were now Marinette and Adrien, just stared at each other in silence, retaking all the times they worked together or interacted with each other with a new knowledge.

Of course, they were having a series of flashbacks of the most bright events they were thgh together - that's how their mind decided to work in a critical situation like this.

 _(/Ladybug falls onto Chat Noir from the sky, knocking him from his baton and tangling them into yoyo string. They rock back and forth while being turned upside down and tied to face each other._

 _"Well, hey there! Nice of you to drop in!" That is the first pun Chat Noir makes._

 _"I'm sorry, I didn't do that on purpose," apologizes the girl as the boy helps her down._

 _"I bet you're my partner my kwami told me about," he replies. "I'm Chat Noir. Yeah, Chat Noir." The newly created name fits him just right. "And you?"_

 _"I'm Ma-" she realizes her identity must stay in secret. "Ma-" the girl searches for the right word while still pulling the yoyo string. Finally it disentangles and hits Chat Noir on the head. "Madly clumsy," she finishes. "I'm so clumsy."_

 _"No worries, clumsy girl. I'm a newbie too," he encourages her./)_

Adrien realized she was about to say 'Marinette' that time. It was quite a messy first meeting, no doubts. But it's unique in its own way, and he was glad it turned out like this. So not a cliche, no love at first sight, nothing false or pretended at all.

 _(/Marinette walks in class and sees a boy near her seat doing something._

 _"Hey, what are you doing?" She comes closer and sees a chewing gum on her seat. Chloé and Sabrina are giggling behind her back. Marinette sighs. "Okay, I get it. Good job, you three. Very funny."_

 _"No, no," Adrien tries to defense himself, "I was just trying to take this off!" He emphasizes 'off', hoping to convince the girl._

 _"Oh, really?" she asks in disbelief while covering the chewing gum with a piece of cloth. "You're friends with Chloé, right?"_

 _He seems confused and slightly hurt. "Why do people keep saying me that?"_

 _Marinette turns away with a 'hm!', and Adrien returns to his seat, not knowing how to fix it._

 _"Now do you see what I said about respect?" Chloé asks him./)_

Marinette winces at the memory, feeling bad for accusing Adrien like that. Never would she thought that time she would fall so hard for him.

 _(/Stoneheart starts coughing as he chokes out a swarm of butterflies. Together they make a giant face, which suddenly starts talking._

 _"People of Paris! Listen carefully! I'm Hawkmoth!"_

 _"Hawkmoth?" ask Ladybug and Chat Noir at the same time._

 _"Ladybug, Chat Noir, give me Ladybug's earrings and Chat's ring now," continues the villain, "since you've done enough damage to these innocent people!"_

 _He is interrupted by clapping. Chat Noir realizes a second after it's Ladybug, who now steps forward in total silence._

 _"Nice try, Hawkmoth, but we know who the bad guy is," she says confidently. "Let's not reverse the roles here. Without you none of these innocent victims would be transformed into a villain." She pauses just for a second and then continues even more confidently. "Hawkmoth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you and you will be the one giving us your miraculous!" Ladybug spins her yoyo and uses its string to jump into the air. "Time to de-evilize!" She throws her yoyo at the face, capturing all the butterflies from the swarm. Ladybug now stands on the Eiffel Tower, right where Stoneheart was. Everyone is frozen, watching the scene in front of them. "Let me make this promise to you!" she says. "No matter who wants to harm you, Ladybug and Chat Noir will do anything in our power to keep you safe!" The heroine releases now white butterflies from her yoyo, and they burst in every possible direction._

 _Upon seeing that everything is all right at least this time, all people cheer at the victory. Chat Noir is still watching Ladybug in awe._

 _"Wow," he swallows from worry and relief for his partner. "Whoever is behind that mask, I love that girl," he almost whispers to himself. It's almost a promise to love her no matter who she turns out to be./)_

Adrien thought that it was the right thing to think that time. He knew he would love her, and he really does. And because she turned out to be Marinette, he was thousands times happier. He couldn't wish for a better girl to protect Paris and have his heart.

 _(/It's raining cats and dogs outside when Marinette comes outside after all the classes are over. Adrien follows close behind. He has an umbrella, and she doesn't. It's not a big walk for her, but quite enough to get soaked._

 _"Hey," says Adrien, trying to catch her attention. She slightly scrunches her nose and turns away a little. He feels dejected, but he decides to explain himself anyway. "I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to get the chewing gum off your seat." The girl finally looks at him. "I swear," Adrien adds. "I've never been to school before. I never had friends..." Marinette's eyes widen a little, and she already feels bad for snapping at him yesterday. "...so this all is sorta new to me," he finishes and extends his arm with umbrella in it for her to take._

 _She is staring at him, and his eyes are genuine. She knows she were wrong, he's so much better than Chloé. The thunder strikes just as Marinette is about to take Adrien's umbrella, and that's the moment she falls for him hard and without return. Her hand brushes his, and maybe Marinette is imagining this, but there is electricity between them. She takes the umbrella and looks at Adrien, really looks at him for the first time. Just as her eyes reach his, the umbrella is closed up on her. Adrien can't help it, he laughs, and his laughter is music to Marinette's ears. She peeks from the black cloth and smiles with him._

 _"See you tomorrow," Adrien waves once he stops laughing and goes to his car. He doesn't seem to notice the rain._

 _"Aha! See you to-mo - morrow to! Oh, why am I stuttering?" Marinette asks herself in confusion. Tikki flies out to the sight._

 _"Hey! I think I might have an idea!" The kwami hugs the girl's cheek, and Marinette is embarrassed to admit that Tikki is right._

 _Down the stairs, Plagg peeks from Adrien's jacket to watch the girl._

 _"First day at school and we already have two lovebirds," he tells Adrien. The boy snorts._

 _"Pfft! Whatever, she's just a friend." The boy suddenly realizes the meaning behind his phrase. "A friend..."_

 _Adrien steps into the car which drives him away. Marinette watches the car disappear. She sighs, takes her backpack and heads home./)_

Marinette couldn't help but wonder how she missed those eyes she fell for. Chat Noir looked at Ladybug like that countless times. Maybe she just decided to ignore it, just like the feelings she now knew she had for her partner.

 _(/Marinette is late for class, and she tries to take her seat queitly. Upon seeing Alya's place empty, she taps Nino on shoulder._

 _"Where's she?"_

 _"She's been suspended," Nino replies._

 _"What?!" shouts Marinette, attracting Ms. Bustier's attention._

 _"Marinette, if you're going to come late, would you please do it discreetly?" the teacher scolds her._

 _"Sorry..." mumbles the girl, and a second later she's tapping Nino again. "What happened to her?"_

 _"The short story, accused to breaking in Chloé's locker - I mean, Ladybug's locker," answers Nino._

 _"What?!" Marinette can't hold her exclamation. Ms. Bustier turns to her, not very happy with the girl's behavior._

 _"That's it, Marinette!" she snaps. "Go to the principal's office!"_

 _Adrien can't catch Nino's train of thought._

 _"What are you talking about?"_

 _"Exactly what I said, bro," responds Nino. "Alya thinks Chloé is Ladybug! She is crazy."_

 _Adrien turns his head to look at Chloé, she catches his glance and winks at him. The boy turns his head back./)_

 _(/Adrien runs into the restrooms to transform to fight Lady Wifi. Plagg is floating in front of his face._

 _"If Chloé is Ladybug like Alya said, Lady Wifi would go straight to her house!" says the boy._

 _"And this also means you have a crush on Chloé," teases him Plagg. Adrien is not comfortable with that thought, so he shakes it off for better times._

 _"Plagg, claws out!"/)_

Adrien shrugged at the memory. Good to remember though that it all worked out right pretty quickly. He can't believe he was almost convinced that Chloé was Ladybug. What a ridiculous thought.

 _(/Chat Noir is pining Ladybug to the ground._

 _"Chat Noir, her miraculous!" says Dark Cupid as he washes his hands in the fountain._

 _"With pleasure!" he answers. "Finally, I'll find out who you are, Ladybug," he says triumphantly. "Your secret will be out of the bag!"_

 _Ladybug thinks it's now or never. She cups Chat Noir's face with her hands and brings him down._

 _Now they are kissing, and it feels right. She breaks the kiss several seconds later, and Chat Noir snaps out of the akuma influence._

 _"Wh-what am I doing here?" he stutters. Ladybug doesn't give him any time._

 _"No time to explain!" She lifts him up and throws at Dark Cupid. "The brooch, quickly, get!"/)_

Oh god, realized Marinette, I kissed Adrien. I kissed Adrien Agreste. This can't be happening right now. I refuse to believe it.

She refused to believe it even then.

 _(/They are making a horror film for the contest. Somehow, there is a kissing scene and they just got rid of Chloé all thanks to Marinette. Somehow, Marinette ended up as agent Smith instead of Mylene, and now she is supposed to have that same kissing scene with inspector Johnes, who is played by Adrien._

 _"Take sixteen, scene two. Go!" says Nino as Alix shows the table._

 _"I'm not scared of that monster, inspector Johnes," states Marinette just a little bit shyly._

 _She leans forwards and up, and Adrien closes his eyes and leans down to kiss her. Their lips are just two centimeters apart._

 _"Cut!" Chloé bursts at the door at the very same moment. Adrien and Marinette spring apart./)_

Adrien's breath hitched at the memory. He almost kissed his lady! No way it was true. His brain was already supplying him a dozen of 'what-if' scenarios. What if Chloé was ten seconds late? What if Marinette was late on the previous take? What if Mylene was brave enough? What if ...

 _(/Ladybug and Chat Noir are watching the dinosaur lying on the ground with tied legs._

 _"Well, that's weird, we didn't have to use this," says Ladybug, looking at her Lucky Charm - a car jack. "What does that mean?"_

 _"Well, I guess it only means we rock as a team," answers Chat Noir confidently, heading towards the T-Rex. Ladybug suddenly comes up to the realization._

 _"Chat Noir, wait!" She yanks him backwards by his tail. "I know what to do," she says, and she is off towards the akuma._

 _"Ladybug!" cries Chat Noir. She ignores him. She is totally concentrated on the task._

 _"Bon appetite, T-Rex!" she shouts almost victoriously, and her partner is left to watch in horror how she jumps right into the dinosaur's mouth. Its jaws come together, mainly by instinct, right after her._

 _"Nooooo!" Chat Noir is scared, he is in panic, he can't understand. "You're so gonna pay for this!" That's certainly a given._

 _Akuma's eyes widen in pain, and the boy watches with immense relief how Ladybug sets the car jack the way to hold dinosaur's jaws fixed apart. Ladybug breaks the bracelet, purifies the akuma and settles everything in order in Paris. She then turns to her partner._

 _"Pound it?"_

 _He can't take it anymore, and instead of fist bump he gives her a hug._

 _"Ladybug! It was a wild ride..."_

 _She relaxes in his arms, wanting to savor the moment, but his ring beeps in warning. One pad left._

 _"Oops, better take my whiskers away," he says and in a moment he is gone._

 _Ladybug watches him, warmth spreading over all her body, smile on her face._

 _"See you next time, Chat Noir."/)_

This was when Marinette realized just how much her partner cared for her. He was more than best friend - without him there would be no her. Maybe that was when Marinette fell in love with him. She just denied it up to the end.

 _(/Marinette and Nino are sitting in front of the zoo on the bench, supposedly waiting for Adrien._

 _"He is not coming, is he?" Marinette sounds dejected, that's why Adrien decides to reassure her._

 _"Repeat after me," Nino hears his voice in the earshot. "Yes, he is, but first I wanted to take this opportunity to..."_

 _"Yes, he is," repeats Nino, "but first I wanted to take this opportunity to..."_

 _"Tell you that I love you, Marinette," finishes Adrien. For some reason, it doesn't feel wrong on his tongue._

 _"Tell you that..." Nino gathers his courage, but obviously he's got not enough. "I love the girl, but I don't know how to tell her!"_

 _"Hey, what are you doing?" protests Adrien./)_

He told his lady he loved her. Very indirectly, but still. This was the first outstanding thought in Adrien's mind until it switched to another one.

He tried to set up his best friend and the love of his life!

Adrien never was so glad that Nino messed up. Luckily enough, he is now happy dating Alya. And it was Marinette who brought them together!

His lady is truly amazing.

And maybe that was when he fell for Marinette, denying it because Nino was in love with her. And Adrien also had Ladybug. No way he liked Marinette more than a friend. Right?

As that memory flashed through his mind, he realized: wrong.

 _(/They are in the middle of the Eiffel Tower, while Lila is on top with Adrien in her hand._

 _"Give me your miraculous now!" It's clear that she threatens to drop the boy otherwise._

 _"I thought you loved him!" shouts Ladybug. It's desperate, and Chat Noir's heart is aching for some reason upon hearing those words from her._

 _"Not as much as seeing you two defeated!" declares Volpina._

 _"You're bluffing," says Chat Noir confidently. "It's another illusion."_

 _"You wanna bet on that?" the akuma smirks and unclamps her fingers one by one._

 _"No!" Ladybug's cry is desperate._

 _"Don't do it, Ladybug!" cries her partner as he throws his stick in Adrien._

 _"No!" exclaims Ladybug once more, but the illusion is already gone./)_

Marinette realized in an instance why Chat Noir was so sure it was an illusion. It must be interesting seeing himself from the side. She hoped he didn't notice how much she cared about him. Not that she wanted to hide it, just... say it herself.

 _(/Adrien and Lila are on the park bench. She shows him the necklace._

 _"Are you telling me this is a miraculous?" he asks, bewildered. It's very hard to believe her, but somehow he almost does._

 _Then a very furious Ladybug drops in. He is so used to her he can sense her mood from the first second._

 _"Well, hey, Lila, how is it going?" Ladybug starts, and he knows there's nothing good to expect. "Long time no see. I saw your interview on the Ladyblog, awesome job! Oh, sure, remember the connection where I saved your life?" With each word Lila seems to be more and more down. "And we got friends ever since. Frantically, we're bffs! Actually, when did I say it again, Lila? I can't recall. Oh, of course, now I remember. Never!" Ladybug slightly turns to Adrien. "She was just trying to impress you and everyone around her."_

 _"So I guess you're not a superhero either?" Adrien asks the Italian girl._

 _"She's more like a super liar," scoffs Ladybug._

 _"How dare you?" cries Lila, and now she's off._

 _"Wait, Lila!" Adrien tries to stop her, then he turns to Ladybug. "Hey, what was that all about?" he asks his partner angrily. Realizing his tone, the boy corrects himself. "I mean, weren't you a little harsh on her?"_

 _"I-I don't put up with liars, especially when they are about me," replies his lady before swinging away._

 _He is left almost lost at his spot. "What's up with you, Ladybug?"/)_

Adrien hoped it was jealousy. He really, really wanted it to turn out this way. Thinking of Volpina more... It probably was. But maybe she was only trying to defend her friend? God, let it be jealousy.

 _(/Ladybug and Chat Noir are on the lowest floor of Grand Paris hotel. Lady Wifi is several stairs flights up._

 _"Get ready!" warns Ladybug._

 _Instead, he asks her The Question._

 _"So, what do you do when you're not Ladybug?"_

 _She groans and face palms before answering._

 _"Can't you see we're a little bit busy right now?" Ladybug looks up. "She's gone back into the hotel!"_

 _Now they're running up._

 _"She locked all the doors!" states Chat Noir. Two stairs flights up he asks second big question. "Hey, you realize we might actually know each other in normal life?"_

 _This time, she actually responds._

 _"I doubt it!"/)_

Oh, how I was wrong that time, thought Marinette. Well, at least now he has the answers. She looked at him, really looked at him, snapping out of the flashbacks in her mind. He seemed to do the very same thing.

Several seconds passed in silence, until Adrien decided to break it.

"So," he awkwardly started. "I was just remembering some moments, you know? And reconsidering them now that I know it was you all along."

Marinette let out a small sigh of relief.

"Same here. You know, when we met first time ever, I fell right on you from the sky." She smiled a little.

"Yeah, and almost said your name," Adrien supplied. "And our first civilian interaction was a huge misunderstanding."

"Totally. And when Chat Noir and Marinette met, you were such a show off!"

"When Ladybug and Adrien first time talked, it was more Marinette style though," he teased. "All awkwardness and stuttering. I really hope you won't stutter around me anymore," Adrien added in a rush.

"Guess not," Marinette shrugged. "I recalled fighting with Alya. You asked me to share my identity with you, and I was sure we didn't know each other as civilians."

"And how I worked with you when you were on a 'secret mission'," he quoted. "And Gamer, and Puppetier..."

"Don't forget Jackady and Volpina then," she laughed.

"I never did. About Volpina though," Adrien narrowed his eyes. Marinette's, on the contrary, widened. "Why were you acting like that, my lady? Were you... jealous?"

"No?" Marinette squeaked. Adrien brought his face closer to hers. "Yes," she gave up under his stare. "You were trying to set me up with Nino!" the girl tried to switch roles.

"My bad," the boy lowered his head, wincing. "I'm glad it didn't work out after all. I distinctly remember it when you said 'he's not coming, is he?' and I told Nino to repeat after me: 'Yes, he is, but first I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that I love you, Marinette.' Funny enough, he never got the guts to tell you last part of it."

Neither of them noticed how easily they started discussing their own feelings.

"I can't believe I kissed you to break Dark Cupid's spell," blurted out Marinette. "And then I didn't even give it a second thought, though somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that only true love can break the spell." She realized what she had just said with double force, and her voice lowered to whisper. "And it must be mutual..."

"We almost kissed as inspector Johnes and agent Smith," continued Adrien her thought. "You know when I fell in love with you?" he suddenly asked. Marinette looked at him with wide eyes and shook her head as 'no'. "It was our second fight against Stoneheart. You shut down Hawkmoth and promised to protect Paris at any cost. That was it. You took my heart with your bravery and now you have it."

"You know when I fell in love with you?" replied the girl. Adrien shook his head in denial. "When you showed me for the first time you're not like Chloé. When you corrected my mistake of misjudging you. Just the next day after we took down Stoneheart. You took my heart with your sincerity and now you have it."

They looked at each other intently for several long seconds. None of them processed what happened next, the next thing they knew they were kissing, and it was right, it felt good, it was how it was supposed to be.

Each kiss brought more large and small flashbacks to their memory, but now they had a lot more time to process it.

They knew they wouldn't be all cosy and comfortable like Tom and Sabine are or impulsive and wild like Gabriel and Emma were, no. It would lie somewhere in between their parents' relationships, and it's just perfect for them.

After all, they are made for each other.

And flashbacks always remain subconscious memories, which are better not to be ignored.

AN: I like to think that Emma is Mrs. Agreste's name - it suits her. Leave your thoughts and critics!;)


End file.
